Homesteading Tips & Tricks | Hey Riley – Session 4

This week on Hey Riley: It just so happens that this week is all about color! We’re combatting gray hairs naturally, recycling grey water, and picking a pretty peck of pink pickles! Keep reading for details.

Homesteading Tips & Tricks | Advice From Homesteaders

Positively Prepared Pioneering

Hey Riley: As you know, the internet is a wonderful resource for information such as you present in your site, however, if one is concerned with pioneer settling as an alternative to trying to survive when the markets crash and we are all living on our own, then readers need to make copies. If electricity or internet access is no longer available, then these copies will be worth their weight. I have started making a notebook of all information I might find useful in the future for reference and would suggest the same for others. I am also confident I will have a lot of Homesteading information in there very soon. Thanks for all the valuable resources and happy pioneering. Thanks -S.K.

Even Hair Has A Silver Lining

Hey Riley, I love your postings of natural products. I am a former brunette, now salt & pepper who hates my look, but doesn’t want to use chemical-laden hair color. Do you have any suggestions of how I can color my hair naturally? -C.S.

My silver lining, I’m sure your hair is absolutely beautiful! But nonetheless, feeling confident in our own looks does make the day a bit easier. Have you thought about using Henna? This powder from India has been a natural remedy and dye for centuries. Mix it with lemon and water and apply to your hair for a natural color. I’d recommend this Henna product from Amazon!

Here are 6 more tips I was able to discover for covering up those grays naturally.

Grey Water is Great Water

Hey Riley, We don’t have city water-only catchment, so sometimes we really need to make our water stretch. I re-use my rinse water from the dishes to water my garden. I also catch the water that would have gone down the drain while waiting for it to get hot enough to do the dishes. I wash my hair OVER the bucket to use on my trees as we have a lot of fruit trees. There are a LOT of ideas on the internet to save water. Good luck -N.K.

Pretty Pink Pickles

Hey Riley! I just wanted to share my three year old daughter’s first step into homesteading. This year, she was in charge of her own garden – squashes mostly, and a few tomatoes – and has been diligently watering them, singing to them, and checking them for pests. While they grew, we talked about what we could make from the fruits and vegetables we would harvest… And she was most excited about pickles. So when we found a couple 8″ zucchini hiding under the leaves, and a single 3″ gherkin, she declared that we needed to make pickles. She picked the size of the jars (short half pints, because they were easy for her to handle), decided on a cut and type of pickle (dill sandwich slices), chose the ingredients (peppercorns, garlic, onions, and loooooots of dill), arranged them into the jars, sliced the zucchini with a mandolin slicer, and picked out the slices that would stand up to being pickled. All I did was handle the knife, pack down the slices into the jar, and handle the boiling vinegar. Everything else was her! I couldn’t be more proud. At three years old, she understands the journey our food takes better than most adults, and has seen what patience and work will produce.

Anyhow, I just had to brag. I know there are lots of homesteaders with children doing this already, but she and I are really just beginning our journey together. It was her first time canning, her first garden, and an experience she may forget in light of decades more experiences like these – but I won’t forget… Especially since the onions she added were red, so her pickles are going to be bright pink when they’re done in 6 weeks. -J.G.

That’s all for this week, we absolutely LOVE hearing from you! Your homesteading tips & stories are so inspiring for myself, and to our fellow readers. Stay tuned, we’ve got more great tips coming up next week!

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